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Draftanomics
Prospect dossier

Jeremiah Smith

WR · Ohio State · 2027 NFL Draft class

Public Draft Board rank #1·33 contributing sources·Board as of August 31, 2026
Draftanomics scouting
Revised preseason edition · September 16, 20264 min readReport role: WR · Ohio State

Master scouting report

Smith projects as a featured outside receiver who can win vertically, separate on intermediate routes and finish through tight coverage. Speed and play strength let him threaten either side of a corner’s leverage, while his tracking and body control expand the quarterback’s margin for error. His receiving skill is ahead of his blocking, and press consistency and sideline spacing remain the clearest technical weaknesses.

By Draftanomics · Sources & edition · Print report

01Releases and separation

Smith can defeat the first contact with quickness or strength, then get directly in front of the corner downfield. Once he establishes that position, his speed makes it difficult for the defender to recover without conceding space underneath. Double moves and subtle hand use help him separate deeper in the route. His release work is not uniformly clean against press, however; he must beat that initial resistance more consistently to make the vertical threat available on schedule.

02Route running

Smith separates on comebacks and can add a second change of direction to a crossing route without losing substantial speed. He is most comfortable working vertically or breaking inside. Abrupt horizontal cuts are less natural for his frame, and the sharpness of his breaks varies. His route value comes from combining the deep threat with enough intermediate separation to punish a corner who retreats early. Sideline spacing needs refinement: he can crowd the boundary and reduce the room available to complete the catch.

03Catching and running

Smith tracks the deep ball and adjusts outside his frame, giving the quarterback a viable target even when the corner stays close enough to contest. He can work through traffic and use his strength to finish against contact. He generally catches away from his body and transitions smoothly into the run. His acceleration challenges pursuit angles, and his play strength gives him a chance to break the first tackle. Concentration remains uneven on routine catches; the difficult-catch ability does not eliminate those avoidable misses.

04Blocking

Blocking is less dependable than his receiving work: an extra hop before contact can take force out of his first punch. His effort in this part of the game also needs to be more consistent. An offense using him on screens and perimeter runs will need more urgency when he is clearing the way for a teammate.

05Experience and production

Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024, then 87 for 1,243 yards and 12 scores in 2025. His freshman playoff run included 19 catches for 381 yards, with 187 against Oregon and the late 56-yard reception that helped close out Notre Dame in the championship game. His March 2025 preparation included repeated strength-program recognition and a growing vocal role in receiver meetings.

06Availability

A quadriceps injury interrupted the end of Smith’s 2025 regular season: he left the UCLA game early, missed Rutgers and returned against Michigan. He played against Michigan below full strength in 2025, with his recovery progressing before the playoff. His availability for that playoff period does not establish his condition for the next season.

The case for the player

Strengths

  • His double moves and subtle use of his hands create separation on deeper routes.

  • Smith tracks deep throws well and adjusts to balls outside his frame.

The questions that remain

Concerns

  • Blocking is less dependable than his receiving work: an extra hop before contact can take force out of his first punch.

  • He still has lapses in concentration on routine catches.

Building the fit

NFL role and scheme fit

Feature Smith outside and use occasional slot alignments to select matchups. His vertical speed can draw safety attention, with slants, crossing routes and comebacks giving the offense complementary throws underneath. He has the receiving tools for a leading role rather than a restricted deep-threat assignment. Perimeter screens and runs will require more consistent blocking effort and a firmer first strike.

The Draftanomics view

Bottom line

A potential lead NFL receiver with multiple ways to separate and finish. The combination of vertical speed, strength and ball adjustment is the foundation of the projection. Cleaner press releases, better boundary spacing and steadier routine execution would make him more dependable without changing the featured receiving role he already fits.

Sources & edition

The Draftanomics assessment, synthesized from attributed reporting. Role and development language expresses scouting opinion.

Draftanomics’ synthesis of published evaluations of 2024–25 play, revised September 16, 2026. This edition does not evaluate 2026 games. Proposed NFL usage is our interpretation of those evaluations.

Edition reviewed September 16, 2026. Rewritten around the player’s techniques, limitations and proposed NFL role. The college record follows the football assessment; earlier editions remain preserved.

The original August edition remains preserved. This is a revised Draftanomics assessment, with supporting sources attached to each statement.

View the 6 referenced sources
Read statement references

Every passage remains linked to its supporting sources. Open a section to inspect the assessment and its evidence.

Sources for overview
  1. House assessment

    Smith projects as a featured outside receiver who can win vertically, separate on intermediate routes and finish through tight coverage. Speed and play strength let him threaten either side of a corner’s leverage, while his tracking and body control expand the quarterback’s margin for error. His receiving skill is ahead of his blocking, and press consistency and sideline spacing remain the clearest technical weaknesses.

Sources for releases and separation
  1. House assessment

    Smith can defeat the first contact with quickness or strength, then get directly in front of the corner downfield. Once he establishes that position, his speed makes it difficult for the defender to recover without conceding space underneath. Double moves and subtle hand use help him separate deeper in the route. His release work is not uniformly clean against press, however; he must beat that initial resistance more consistently to make the vertical threat available on schedule.

Sources for route running
  1. House assessment

    Smith separates on comebacks and can add a second change of direction to a crossing route without losing substantial speed. He is most comfortable working vertically or breaking inside. Abrupt horizontal cuts are less natural for his frame, and the sharpness of his breaks varies. His route value comes from combining the deep threat with enough intermediate separation to punish a corner who retreats early. Sideline spacing needs refinement: he can crowd the boundary and reduce the room available to complete the catch.

Sources for catching and running
  1. House assessment

    Smith tracks the deep ball and adjusts outside his frame, giving the quarterback a viable target even when the corner stays close enough to contest. He can work through traffic and use his strength to finish against contact. He generally catches away from his body and transitions smoothly into the run. His acceleration challenges pursuit angles, and his play strength gives him a chance to break the first tackle. Concentration remains uneven on routine catches; the difficult-catch ability does not eliminate those avoidable misses.

Sources for blocking
  1. House assessment

    Blocking is less dependable than his receiving work: an extra hop before contact can take force out of his first punch.

  2. House assessment

    His effort in this part of the game also needs to be more consistent.

  3. House assessment

    An offense using him on screens and perimeter runs will need more urgency when he is clearing the way for a teammate.

Sources for experience and production
  1. Reported fact

    Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024, then 87 for 1,243 yards and 12 scores in 2025.

  2. Reported fact

    His freshman playoff run included 19 catches for 381 yards, with 187 against Oregon and the late 56-yard reception that helped close out Notre Dame in the championship game.

  3. Reported fact

    His March 2025 preparation included repeated strength-program recognition and a growing vocal role in receiver meetings.

Sources for availability
  1. Reported fact

    A quadriceps injury interrupted the end of Smith’s 2025 regular season: he left the UCLA game early, missed Rutgers and returned against Michigan.

  2. Reported fact

    He played against Michigan below full strength in 2025, with his recovery progressing before the playoff.

  3. Reported fact

    His availability for that playoff period does not establish his condition for the next season.

Sources for nfl role and scheme fit
  1. House assessment

    Feature Smith outside and use occasional slot alignments to select matchups. His vertical speed can draw safety attention, with slants, crossing routes and comebacks giving the offense complementary throws underneath. He has the receiving tools for a leading role rather than a restricted deep-threat assignment. Perimeter screens and runs will require more consistent blocking effort and a firmer first strike.

Sources for bottom line
  1. House assessment

    A potential lead NFL receiver with multiple ways to separate and finish. The combination of vertical speed, strength and ball adjustment is the foundation of the projection. Cleaner press releases, better boundary spacing and steadier routine execution would make him more dependable without changing the featured receiving role he already fits.

Sources for deep separation
  1. House assessment

    His double moves and subtle use of his hands create separation on deeper routes.

Sources for ball tracking
  1. House assessment

    Smith tracks deep throws well and adjusts to balls outside his frame.

Sources for blocking
  1. House assessment

    Blocking is less dependable than his receiving work: an extra hop before contact can take force out of his first punch.

Sources for routine catches
  1. House assessment

    He still has lapses in concentration on routine catches.

College record & draft context

College production, measurables, experience, and the prospect's place on the sealed Public Draft Board.

Public Draft Board

Public Draft Board rank
#1
Position rank
WR1
Contributing sources
33
Movement since prior snapshot
Unchanged

Sealed snapshot as of August 31, 2026 · equal-weight aggregation of public boards, minimum 3 sources for a rank · The Public Draft Board

College production

Receiving
StatisticSeason 2024Season 2025
Receptions7687
Receiving yards13151243
Yards per reception17.314.3
Receiving TD1512
Long7087
Rushing
StatisticSeason 2024Season 2025
Carries63
Rushing yards4721
Yards per carry7.87
Rushing TD11
Long1917

Seasons of evidence: 2. Games played, snap counts, and usage shares are not in the retained data. An em dash means the value is not in the dataset, not zero.

Evidence notes

  • The retained data contains 2 seasons of receiving, rushing production (2024–2025).
  • Receiving yards decreased in each observed season (1315 → 1243).
  • The newest college season in the retained data is 2025; the 2026 season is not yet included.
  • No verified athletic testing is included in the sealed dataset for this prospect.
  • 33 contributing public boards rank this prospect; the Public Draft Board places him at #1.

Each note restates a displayed fact. None is a forecast of NFL performance.

Experience and measurements

Listed height
6'3"
Listed weight
223 lb
Class
Junior
Age
Not in dataset
Recorded school
Ohio State
Former school
Not in dataset
Hometown
Miami Gardens, FL
Jersey
#4
Recruiting stars
5-star
Recruiting rank
#1 nationally

"Not in dataset" means the value is absent from the sealed dossier dataset, not that it does not exist.

Athletic testing

Not included in the sealed dataset. No combine, pro-day, or RAS value is retained for the 2027 class; absence here does not mean no testing has taken place.

Listed roster height and weight (CollegeFootballData); no verified athletic testing is retained. Bio captured August 29, 2026.

Historical comparisons

Historical profile comparisons are being rebuilt.

Sources and methodology

  • Retained bio and measurements: Draftanomics prospect ingest (CollegeFootballData rosters and recruiting), retained seed data/seed/prospects_upcoming_full.parquet.
  • Retained college production: CollegeFootballData season statistics via the retained player cross-reference; position-relevant categories only; all-zero category rows dropped.
  • Age: unavailable — no birth date or age is retained for the 2027 class.
  • Transfer history: not retained — the page shows the current school and, where the frozen id names a different school, the former school.
  • Public Draft Board: sealed snapshot as of August 31, 2026; per-source ranks are not published under the aggregate-only source policy.

Board methodologyDossier methodologyResearch status

Board position reflects aggregated public opinion; the scouting report is a separate editorial assessment.